Even though Joe Cain Day is still a few months away, the Joe Cain Marching Society is giving the Azalea City a taste of the Mardi Gras in November. This event will also be a kick-off party for the 50th anniversary of the Joe Cain Marching Society’s People’s Parade and will include an appearance by a “special guest.” Not only is the Footmarchers’ Ball one of the biggest parties of the year, this event has another goal — to help maintain the original concept of the Joe Cain Day Procession, according to Head Marcher Lillian Dean.

“The purpose of the Footmarchers’ Ball is to raise the monies needed to parade on Joe Cain Day each year so the participants do not have to pay anything to parade,” Dean said. “This is in keeping with the original intent of the People’s Parade, as intended by Joe Cain ‘hisself’ and Julian (Judy) Rayford, who started the present-day celebration.”

The evening will begin with a raucous second-line through the streets of LoDa, which will be led by Mobile’s Blow House Brass Band. These new-school masters of brass will blare the sounds of the Mardi Gras as the second-line arrives at Soul Kitchen. Blow House will continue its set as the crowd dances and enjoys food from The Blind Mule.

New Orleans band Debauche will be the headliner of the Footmarchers’ Ball. This band won over locals with a set at last year’s SouthSounds Music Festival. Described as a “Russian Mafia Band,” Debauche will fill its set with “gypsy punk, Russian street folk, klezmer, traditional Ukrainian and Balkan-inspired tunes.”

This will be a bal masque in the tradition of l’ancien régime. While it is not required, those attending are encouraged to come in costume and/or mask. However, organizers want people to attend in anything they find comfortable wearing for the evening.

About The Author

With the exception of two years spent at Auburn University, Steve Centanni has spent his life in Mobile County while focusing on his two passions: music and the written word. As soon as he was issued his driver’s license, Centanni began to explore the local music scene in the early ‘90s.
He filled his weekend with visits classic local venues such as the Four Strong Winds Coffee House, Vincent Van Go-Go’s and Culture Shock, all of which welcomed those who had yet to reach 18. After high school, Centanni traded Mobile for Auburn to complete his B.A. in English with an emphasis on general writing.
While at Auburn, he had the honor of studying under the Pulitzer-winning poet Natasha Trethewey, who served as the nation’s Poet Laureate in 2012 and 2014. After receiving his diploma, Centanni quickly moved back to Mobile and completed the University of South Alabama’s graduate program with a M.Ed. Eventually, he was tapped by the nationally distributed Volume Entertainment Magazine to serve as the magazine’s managing editor/senior writer.
His time with Volume allowed him to exercise his love for both music and writing. As Volume began to fade, Lagniappe recruited Centanni as their Music Writer and later their Music Editor, where he has remained for a little over a decade.
As far as his involvement in the local music scene, Centanni organized Cess Fest at the Langan Park, which was a mini-festival focused on original local music in a time when original local music was veritably taboo in Downtown Mobile. For a short time, he brought original music to Downtown Mobile as the in-house promoter for the now deceased venue Cell Block. He managed local underground powerhouse Fry Cook, until the members parted ways. Centanni has lent his bass to bands such as Keychain Pistol and The F’n A-Holes, and he toured nationally as a member of Abstract Artimus & the Torture Children.
Currently, he provides vocals for the garage blues rock outfit Johnny No. Ultimately, Centanni’s experience in the local music scene as both a participant and an observer has allowed him to witness the ever-changing persona of Mobile’s enigmatic music scene, which continues to leave him with more questions than answers.